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Research Methods Handouts - 101159

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8 views4 pages

Research Methods Handouts - 101159

Uploaded by

tariqaniaa
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Research Methods | Definitions, Types, Examples

What is Research?
Research is a process of systematic inquiry that entails collection of data; documentation of critical
information; and analysis and interpretation of that data/information, in accordance with suitable
methodologies set by specific professional fields and academic disciplines.

Research is conducted to...


 Evaluate the validity of a hypothesis or an interpretive framework.
 To assemble a body of substantive knowledge and findings for sharing them in appropriate
manners.
 To help generate questions for further inquiries.

Source: https://www.hampshire.edu/what-research

Research methods are specific procedures for collecting and analyzing data. Developing your research
methods is an integral part of your research design. When planning your methods, there are two key
decisions you will make.

First, decide how you will collect data. Your methods depend on what type of data you need to answer
your research question:
 Qualitative vs. quantitative: Will your data take the form of words or numbers?
 Primary vs. secondary: Will you collect original data yourself, or will you use data that has
already been collected by someone else?
 Descriptive vs. experimental: Will you take measurements of something as it is, or will you
perform an experiment?

Second, decide how you will analyze the data.


 For quantitative data, you can use statistical analysis methods to test relationships between
variables.
 For qualitative data, you can use methods such as thematic analysis to interpret patterns and
meanings in the data.

Methods for collecting data

Data is the information that you collect for the purposes of answering your research question. The type
of data you need depends on the aims of your research.

Qualitative vs. quantitative data

Your choice of qualitative or quantitative data collection depends on the type of knowledge you want
to develop.

For questions about ideas, experiences and meanings, or to study something that can’t be described
numerically, collect qualitative data.

If you want to develop a more mechanistic understanding of a topic, or your research


involves hypothesis testing, collect quantitative data.
You can also take a mixed methods approach, where you use both qualitative and quantitative research
methods.

Primary vs. secondary research

Primary research is any original data that you collect yourself for the purposes of answering your
research question (e.g. through surveys, observations and experiments). Secondary research is data that
has already been collected by other researchers (e.g. in a government census or previous scientific
studies).

If you are exploring a novel research question, you’ll probably need to collect primary data. But if you
want to synthesize existing knowledge, analyze historical trends, or identify patterns on a large
scale, secondary data might be a better choice.

Descriptive vs. experimental data

In descriptive research, you collect data about your study subject without intervening. The validity of
your research will depend on your sampling method.

In experimental research, you systematically intervene in a process and measure the outcome. The
validity of your research will depend on your experimental design.
To conduct an experiment, you need to be able to vary your independent variable, precisely measure
your dependent variable, and control for confounding variables. If it’s practically and ethically possible,
this method is the best choice for answering questions about cause and effect.

Methods for analyzing data

Your data analysis methods will depend on the type of data you collect and how you prepare it for
analysis.
Data can often be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, survey responses could
be analyzed qualitatively by studying the meanings of responses or quantitatively by studying the
frequencies of responses.
Qualitative analysis methods

Qualitative analysis is used to understand words, ideas, and experiences. You can use it to interpret data
that was collected:
 From open-ended surveys and interviews, literature reviews, case studies, ethnographies, and
other sources that use text rather than numbers.
 Using non-probability sampling methods.

Qualitative analysis tends to be quite flexible and relies on the researcher’s judgement, so you have to
reflect carefully on your choices and assumptions and be careful to avoid research bias.

Quantitative analysis methods

Quantitative analysis uses numbers and statistics to understand frequencies, averages


and correlations (in descriptive studies) or cause-and-effect relationships (in experiments).
You can use quantitative analysis to interpret data that was collected either:
 During an experiment.
 Using probability sampling methods.

Because the data is collected and analyzed in a statistically valid way, the results of quantitative analysis
can be easily standardized and shared among researchers.

Source: https://www.scribbr.com/category/methodology/

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